Melt flow index testing associated polymer labs, inc. There are two points in the manufacturing supply chain where a determination of average. Melt flow index, melt flow rate, astm d1238, iso 13. Both astm 1238 and iso 13 offer two variations of the standard melt flow test. The flow of polymer melt in fff may be characterized as pressuredriven flow. Melt flow rate measures the rate of extrusion of thermoplastics through an orifice at a prescribed temperature and load. In this study, the experiment was done by melt indexer machinemim which is a common equipment used for the melt flow index mfi or melt flow rate mfr.
Normally, the test conditions for measurement of melt flow rate are specified in the material standard with a reference to this part of iso 13. While melt flowrate testing is not extremely difficult, and the equipment is not very costly, few. Astmd1238 standard test method for melt flow rates of. The melt rheology and processing of b5010 is quite similar to a blown film ldpe grade with a melt flow index mfi of 24 g10min. Standard test method for melt flow rates of thermoplastics. The mass of resin, in grams, that is extruded in 10 minutes equals the mfr, expressed in units of g10 min. Tinius olsen is proud to introduce our latest evolution of melt indexer to meet almost every need. Ceast melt flow testers range from systems that perform a simple manual test procedure to semiautomated testing systems performing multiple weight tests. Determination of the melt massflow rate mfr and the. Mp600 extrusion plastometer texas state university. Melt flow test equipment for sale with extended warranty. Astm d1238 10 standard test method for melt flow rates. It is defined as the mass of polymer, in grams, flowing in ten minutes through a capillary of a. Details of the software products used to create this pdf file can be.
Find the most uptodate version of astm d at engineering astm d. Polymer processors usually correlate the value of mfi with the. In the present work, a method has been proposed to estimate the rheograms of a melt at temperatures relevant to its processing conditions with the use of a master curve, knowing the melt flow index and glass transition temperature of the material. May 14, 2016 melt flow index tester mfi tester manufacturers, exporters and suppliers duration. Melt flow rate depends on molecular weight, additives, and other ingredients. Melt flow index is an assessment of average molecular mass and is an inverse measure of the melt viscosity. The force used to push the plastic through the system is supplied by a weight which sits on top of a ram.
Your dynisco lab melt flow indexer contains high voltage inside the housing. This presentation is designed to be an informative introduction and guide to melt flow test, and to assist with troubleshooting inconsistencies in results. From melt flow index to rheogram welcome to ias fellows. Aug 23, 2011 you can combine a procedure a and procedure b test to give both weight and volume data, which allow calculation of melt density. The melt flow index mfi is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic polymer. Melt index mi relates only to polyethylene in its determination of melt flow rate. Presto stantest understands the need for measuring mfi of polymer granules and offers a highquality melt flow index tester. This test method is widely used, especially in quality assurance and goods inwards testing. Standard test method for flow rates for polyvinyl chloride with molecular structural implications. Therefore, measuring the pressure drop as the filament is processed through the fff nozzle provides a means for obtaining rheological properties of materials from an fffbased device. The melt flow indexer is an affordable tabletop instrument that tests the melt flow resistance mfr of a wide range of thermoplastics. Melt flow tester mfi melt flow indexer rayran manufactures an. Since the polyox watersoluble resins wsr are provided as a powder, it is critical that the sample be homogeneous. Procedure b requires that the melt density either be known or calculated using the calculate option in the embedded software.
A density at melt temperature test can also be conducted. Melt flow index mfi is defined as the measure of the ease of melt flow of thermoplastic material in gram over the course of 10 min at a certain standard temperature ie, 230c. Melt flow indexer manual and motorized mp1200 from tinius. Procedure b is an automatically timed measurement used to determine the melt flow rate mfr as well as the melt volume rate mvr of thermoplastic materials. Experimental procedure summary approximately 6 to10 grams of polyethylene is loaded into the barrel of the melt flow plastometer. Proflow plastic resin, polypropylene plastic suppliers. Procedure b is an automatically timed flow rate measurement used for materials having flows from. The units of measure are grams of material10 minutes g10 min. The operating procedure is simple to undertake using its onboard advanced microprocessor. Understanding melt flow is a key indicator for producers, processors and converters of plastic materials as it dictates the temperatures and pressures required to manufacture consistent. Permissions to reprint documents can be acquired through. There are correlation charts if anyone wants to get viscosity in mpa or centipoises from a melt index number, but hardly anyone use s them in industry. Tinius olsens model mp600 shown in procedure a configuration. The manually operated test procedure is very simple to undertake.
Astm d1238 standard test method for melt flow rates of. Therefore, the only process variable that can influence the shear rate is the flow rate of the material as it is filling the mold. Pdf determining the melt flow index of polypropylene. The melt flow index only tests the material at one shear stress, and temperature. The values obtained by this method must specify the temperature and load used for the measurement. Mfr and mi provide a measure of the amount in grams of material that flows through an orifice of a specified size in a specified length of time 10 minutes. In this type of flow, one layer of melt flows over another on application of a shearing force. The selection melting temperature was 180 oc and standard load is 5kg.
A lowcost approach for characterizing melt flow properties. The values obtained by this method must specify the temperature and. Of those that do, most dont understand why they are doing it or what they are measuring. Melt flow tests are a simple method of characterizing the flow properties of a plastic melted mass.
Melt flow index of recycle abs for fused deposition modeling. Fundamentals of melt flow testing linkedin slideshare. Flow rate ratio test and the pneumatic lift option. The tester conforms to all national and international melt flow resistance standards, including bs en iso 13 and astm d1238. Resin flow characteristics melt flow index another common method for quantifying melt flow is detailed in the astm test method d1238, melt flow rates of thermoplastics by extrusion plastometer. More than just a quality control rheological parameter. Each roll shall have permanently affixed and accessible inside the. Standard test method for flow rates for polyvinyl chloride. The demands placed on the extrusion plastometer vary according to which processing stage in. Both melt flow and rheology tests can be very helpful tools for qc monitoring and development of polymers. This value is also commonly called the melt index, mi, or meltflow index, mfi. Proflow has an ultrahigh melt index which enables it to dramatically reduce mold pressures in injection molding and extrusion applications. Astm d1238 standard test method for melt flow rates.
Melt flow rates of thermoplastics by extrusion plastometer1. The instron melt flow testers are specifically designed for easy and accurate measuring of the melt massflow rate mfr and the melt volumeflow rate mvr. While melt flow rate testing is not extremely difficult, and the equipment is not very costly, few. Melt flow index mfi melt flow index values of the various samples were measured by using a melt flow indexer at 100 c, load 2. The mp1200 is a superior, advanced, melt indexing system that is available in either manual or. Please be aware that this machine has no computer connectivity or file capture software functionality. To determine the optimum process temperature the material. The melt flow index mfi is the measure of how many grams of polymer pass through a standardized capillary under a standard load over 10 minutes. Qualifi 6000 melt flow indexer series can be used for testing mfr and mvr of polycarbonate, fluoroplastics, as well as polyethylene, polypropylene, abs, pom, etc and is related to the melted material viscosity. It is generally used as an alternative to procedure b on samples having melt flow rates greater than 75 g10 min. Mfr measurements made with procedure b are reported in g10 minutes. Using standard test procedure and conditions to perform mfi test on plastic granules is the best way to determine the physical as well as chemical properties of the material.
The result is expressed in grams per 10 minutes g10 min. The melting property of thermoplastic material can be checked by equipment called a melt flow tester fig. Melt flow index equipment melt flow systems used to determine the flow characteristics of various polymers melt flow index testers and accessories bt technology inc. Oct 20, 2015 the melt flow index is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic polymer. The molten material flowed through an orifice of 2. Polyox watersoluble resins melt flow test procedure. Melt flow indexer the melt flow indexer, often abbreviated as mfi, is an affordableprice tabletop instrument used to test the melt flow resistance mfr of a wide range of thermoplastic materials.
Pdf despite the fact that mfi is an empirically defined parameter with certain limitations as described above, it is still one of the most popular. The mfi is a determination of the flow ability of thermoplastic materials. The 6mpca is the most advanced digital model offered within the rayran range of melt flow index testers. But for any given location within the flow path there is the expectation that the crosssectional area of the flow path remains the same. The melt flow index is a major property of the plastics that determines the physical as well as chemical properties of the materials. Use of melt flow rate test in reliability study of. Measuring mass flow rate mfr and other polymer properties. The melt flow index value allows for direct comparison of materials to each other and is a valuable tool for quality assurance. Melt flow system 6mba manual basic model 460201 the 6mba is the basic model offered within the rayran range of melt flow indexers.
Iso standard 131 governs the procedure for measurement of the melt flow rate. The melt flow index obtaining accurate and relevant results. It is defined as the mass of polymer, in grams, flowing in ten minutes through a capillary of a specific diameter and length by a pressure applied via prescribed alternative gravimetric weights for alternative prescribed. B5010 may be processed easily on conventional extruders with either smoothbore feed sections or groovedfeed. Standard test method for melt flow rates of thermoplastics by extrusion plastometer 1. Weigh the extrudate and multiply by the appropriate factor to obtain the standard gms10 minute meltflow value. Melt flow rate testing part 2 to fully appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the melt flow rate mfr test it is important to know something about the way the test is performed. Different standardised conditions of extrusion temperatures and pres. Part i article pdf available in advances in polymer technology 61.
Iso 131991 determination of the melt mass flow rate mfr and the melt volume flow rate mvr of thermoplastics3 3. Both offer a manual means procedure a or method a and automatic timed flow measurement procedure b or method b. Mfr and the melt volumeflow rate mvr of ther moplastics3. Weigh the extrudate and multiply by the appropriate factor to obtain the standard gms10 minute melt flow value. Standard test method for melt flow rates of thermoplastics by. Standard test procedure and conditions to perform mfi. Shear flow is one of the most important types of flow occurring in polymer melts during conversion processes. Shenoy department of materials science and engineering university of florida gainesville, florida 3261 1, usa. Melt flow index of recycle abs for fused deposition modeling fdm filament article pdf available july 2015 with 1,029 reads how we measure reads. Determination of the melt mass flow rate mfr and melt volume flow rate mvr of thermoplastics.
Because the viscosity of a polymer varies with flow rate, or shear rate, a complete characterization of viscosity must allow for measurements at multiple shear. A useful measure of the shear stressshear rate relationship can be made by measuring the samples mfrmvr at the standard and at the higher load. The temperature sensors shall be used with a potentiometer having a sensitivity of at least 0. The melt flow index mfi, also known as the melt flow rate mfr, of a resin is a materials property test used in the plastics industry. The afrt automatically allows the flow rate to be measured and is suitable for flow rates between 0. Melt flow system advanced the 6mpca is the most advanced model offered within the rayran range of melt flow indexers.
Melt flow index mfi the melt flow index mfi is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic polymer. Melt flow tester mfi melt flow indexer rayran manufactures an extensive range of advanced plastics and rubber testing equipment such as 6mba advanced melt flow indexer which is a highly precise melt testing instrument for the measurement of melt flow rate mfr or melt volume rate mvr in quality control and. The melt flow index mfi is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information. Depending upon the resulting flow rate, a slightly. Both measure the same property, but slight procedural and equipment differences can yield different results. It is generally used as an alternative to procedure b on samples having melt. This process is described by the relationship between two variables, the shear rate and the shear stress. If you are suspicious of the meltflow data you are obtaining, you have plenty of options for checking and updating equipment, examining procedures, and comparing results with those obtained by others. It is generally used for materials having melt flow rates that fall between 0. Mfr100 manual basic melt flow system united testing systems. The 4601 melt flow indexer is an affordable and easytouse tabletop instrument that tests the melt flow resistance mfr of a wide range of thermoplastics. The melt flow rate mfr, originally called melt flow index or melt index, is a measure of the ease of flow of the melt of a thermoplastic polymer. Repeat the entire procedure 3 times and average the results.
Melt flow rate testing part 5 reprinted with permission materials know how by michael sepe from michael p. The value obtained through the melt flow index test is a single data point. The test is performed at a given temperature depending on the plastic. It provides a means of measuring flow of a melted material which can be used to differentiate grades as with polyethylene, or. Working procedure of mfi tester to measure the viscosity. The test measures the melt flow properties of resins in g10 min at a particular shear stress related to applied load and temperature. Melt flow system 6mba manual basic testing machines. The hanatek melt flow indexer mfi is one of the most advanced instruments available for the measurement the melt characteristics of thermoplastic polymers. Depending upon the resulting flow rate, a slightly shorter 30 second or longer cut 2 minute may be substituted for the normal 1 minute cut. This new model, the mp1200, meets, and surpasses, all the requirements of procedure a and procedures b, c and d of astm d1238.
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